SkeptiDad

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Over the weekend I noticed the “Say
No To GMO” protest at Parkinson (A rec center here that holds the off season farmers market). I was a little confused. Did the
people protesting understand that almost everything we eat has been
genetically modified. Or that our species has been genetically
modifying the food we grow for thousands of years. Granted today we
can modify the plants in a lab, instead of selective pollinating out
in the field. But does that make it bad?

Science says no. Everything bio-tech
product that comes out of a lab is strictly regulated, and rigorously
tested before it is allowed to come to market. The benefits of being
able to target certain genes in a lab, makes the process faster and
safer then selective pollinating in the field. There are great things
being done in the biotechnology field, we can now make plants more
pest resistant, which means less pesticide. Higher yield crops means
more food on less space. They can now even enhance the vitamin
content of the food to make it even more healthy. Why, after all of
that, would you still want to say no to GMO?

The truth is, the argument against
biotechnology is one of ignorance and fear. Like most new technology
on the market people are afraid of it. Some don't really understand
it. And ever prevalent is the naturalistic logical fallacy, the
belief that everything natural is good and anything done in a lab is
bad for you. While I can give you numerous examples of instances
where this is not true, I will try to keep this letter short.

So, instead of saying no to GMO, say
yes to science education and scientific literacy.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

So it came to my attention, that a
creationist from California was offering $10,000 to anyone who could
prove evolution over creationism in a court of law. At first this
seemed like it would have been an easy $10,000, but when you start to
look at the wording, things become a little more dodgy. If at this
point any of my readers are wondering what a creationist is, it is
someone who believes that everything was created by a supernatural
power, just as we see it today, and that evolution isn't true.

Let's start with whether or not there
is even a debate here. Spoiler, there isn't. Evolution is so well
proven, and empirically verified that there is no longer a question
as to whether or not it happened. It did. For over 150 years, it's
been tested more than any other scientific theory we have. There is
thousands of lines of investigation, with hundreds of thousands of
pieces of evidence.

So, if evolution is considered a fact,
why does it seem like no one is taking him up on this offer. Well,
lets look at his offer, this is from the new source that first
reported it.

A Californiacreationist
is offering a $10,000 challenge to anyone who can prove in front of a
judge that science contradicts the literal interpretation of the book
of Genesis.

Seems straightforward enough, but when you look closer at the claim,
science would have to disprove creation in order to win. The way this
is set up is a win win for him.

So, why can't science disprove this. Science can't disprove anything,
that's not how it works. We can prove something does exist, or that
something did happen, however we can never prove that something does
not exist, or that something never happened. Go ahead and try it,
prove to me that hobbits don't exist, and that Frodo never carried
the one ring.

I'm going to make a prediction here. I think that most of those who
can prove evolution, won't take the bait. There is a problem with
this. If no one steps up to take this on, the creationists will use
this as “evidence” that science is wrong. However if someone does
take this up, and loses, which they will because this is how it is
set up, then again the creationists will use this as more “evidence”
of their position. Either way, there are those who will use this as
an excuse to try and push the teaching of their wrong and outdated
beliefs on our children.

Science is science, and it is not decided in a court, or debate, or
by popular opinion. Science is based on empirical evidence.
Scientific theories are facts.

About Me

Carpenter, Father, Critical Thinking Activist. I am active with the local CFI. I also enjoy hunting and outdoors sports. I want to make the world a better place through teaching critical thinking skills.